As a professional singer and actor, I have had a total of 33 jobs in 17 years. I have worked at least 3 jobs or more simultaneously in addition to performing over the years. Each week, I will discuss one of my former or current jobs. My thirtieth job was 6th Grade Math Teacher at Bronx Prep Middle School with the Democracy Prep Charter Network.
Getting the Job
In January 2023, my catering shifts at Cipriani and Amerivents came to a complete halt. I filed for unemployment for the first time ever and did not qualify for it. In January, I began applying for full-time job teaching jobs and interviewed for a position at Democracy Prep.
I prepared a 6th grade math lesson for my demo lesson with the sixth graders. The demo went extremely well and I was offered a position immediately. Also, I re-enrolled at Relay Graduate School of Education to finish the last 5 credits of my degree.
The Experience
I started working at Bronx Prep in February after winter break. During this time, I observed the other teacher’s classes. I only got to work in my homeroom class in the mornings after I requested this. I was told to backwards plan the math lessons for the remaining months of the school year.
My classroom management has always been a work in progress. Since I was mostly observing the other teachers for the first two weeks, I had not built a relationship with my other three 6th grade math classes. I had the strongest relationship with my homeroom/1st period math class. The music teacher told me that my homeroom’s behavior had improved since I began working with them.
Possible Music Teaching
During my first week, the assistant principal asked me to teach music because the music teacher was going to be leaving. Originally, I agreed to do this, but changed my mind. In order to fulfill my graduate school requirements, I had to teach 6th grade math. I changed my mind and decided to just teach math for the 6th grade classes since that was what I was hired to do.
Classroom Management
Once I began teaching all the math classes, the assistant principal was not content with my classroom management. She called me into her office to tell me that they would like me to work with the 7th Grade math teacher. My current co-teacher, who was actually a behavior dean would continue teaching the 6th grade math classes. Also, I would begin teaching SETSS Special Education Support Services.
I thought this was a great idea to be honest. The issue was that I was not legally allowed to do either of these positions. I was in the process of getting my certification to teach grades 1-6 general education, not certification in Special Education or for grades 7-12. I told my assistant principal that I did not think that I was allowed to teach 7th grade math.
Asking to Be Dishonest
My assistant principal told me to be dishonest with my grad school professor, so I told my professor. My graduate school professor told me that it was against state regulation for me to teach outside of my pending certification. This meant that I was not allowed to teach SETSS or 7th grade math. My assistant principal knew this, but asked me to do this anyway.
Keeping My Integrity
I sent an email to the principal and cc’d the superintendent. After this, the assistant principal and principal called me into their office. Both were angry that I sent the email and I told them that I wanted a third-party in the room. They went to get someone. I believe the Holy Spirit just told me to resign right then and there.
I grabbed my stuff and left after only 5 weeks. The biggest consequence about leaving was that I could not finish my degree and I ended up owing my grad school $4,000, which I am still trying to pay back in 2024. My salary was $72,000 at this job. It was not easy to walk away from that salary, but my integrity is worth more than a paycheck.